Quick story you guys might enjoy. Went to a party at [name redacted] on Saturday night. About 20 people. Half of us went to some random bar, the other half went to this upscale place [in New York City] called Marquee. Anyways, these two pretty girls who were visiting from Texas went to Marquee.

So [Sunday] morning, my friend calls me and says "Do you know some guy named Matt Line Hart?" I laugh and say yeah and don't bother to correct her. She says, well he was at Marquee last night, and hit on one of the girls from texas all night, danced with her, and then was so drunk he groped her -- she turned around and slapped him, and left.

I said yea yea, i doubt it even though it kinda made sense that he would be in an upscale club getting trashed after losing the heisman. i told her i'd believe the story when i saw pictures.

Earlier today, many sports websites -- including Sports Illustrated, Deadspin, Ben Maller and several team-specific blogs -- received the same email. It contained two photos of Matt Leinart and a young woman and the following second-hand story.

But that alleged incident never happened.

"She didn't slap me," said Leinart in an exclusive interview. "And I didn't grope her."

We find ourselves in the unique position of being able to corroborate Leinart's statement, as we were with him and his friends all night. So was Sports Illustrated writer Arash Markazi.

"I saw her," said Markazi. "He didn't do anything wrong. And there was no slapping."

Markazi said it would have been impossible for the incident described to occur without everyone knowing something happened. "If Matt Leinart got slapped, there would have been a scene. There would have been a big commotion." Leinart said that's what happened with the woman in the photos, who wanted a picture with him. "I was just trying to be nice."

Those photos, which were attached to the email sent out to those websites by the third party, hardly confirm the groping claims. "I just laugh at this," said Leinart, no stranger to the perils of celebrity. "I mean, come on, I have a girlfriend I love."

As for all the commotion that the photos caused? Leinart's not fazed. "If someone's trying to get five minutes of attention, it's just funny to me. I have more important things to think about," he said, referencing his preparation for the Rose Bowl.